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May 7, 2012

NAPFA Goes to Chicago for Biggest-Ever Annual Conference

From practice management to alternative investing to tax planning and beyond, the 2012 National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) will kick off its biggest-ever national conference on Tuesday in Chicago.

The NAPFA national conference, to be held May 8 through May 11 at the Hilton Chicago, will bring together hundreds of fee-only financial planners. Events include networking opportunities, a daily lineup of keynote speakers including the former Obama administration economist Austan Goolsbee and the retirement expert Natalie Choate, all-day case studies and dozens of breakout sessions that cover five required continuing education (CE) strategies.

“It’s never been more challenging to be a financial advisor. There’s so much to learn and so much to do for clients,” says NAPFA’s national conference 2012 Web page, in explanation of why the fee-only planners group has extended its national conference to three and a half days from just three days last year in Salt Lake City.

Scheduled for a keynote address Thursday afternoon is Tom Nally, TD Ameritrade Institutional’s new president. TDAI is the national sponsor for the 2012 conference. Nally is on tap to tell NAPFA conference goers what the firm has in store for advisors and what trends he expects to see driving the advisory business.

The program agenda includes breakout sessions such as “Income Taxation of Trusts” with Martha Ferrari and Bernard Kiely; a succession planning panel moderated by Alan Moore; and “529 College Planning: Position Your Clients’ Portfolios for Future Tax Hikes…Now,” sponsored by BlackRock/iShares.

Nearly 100 exhibitors have signed up for the conference, including American Funds, the CFP Board of Standards, Charles Schwab Advisor Services, Morningstar, Northern Trust FlexShares ETFs, Scottrade Advisor Services and the Social Security Administration.

For those who can’t attend the event, 2012 NAPFA National can be followed on Twitter at www.twitter.com/NAPFA.

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